Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Bonner for his question. In this year’s budget the government announced the most significant superannuation changes in the last two decades, and they were very widely welcomed. The Investment and Financial Services Association said:

The effective removal of end benefits tax and tax on super pensions is a major step toward the simplification of an overly complex ... regime.

ASFA said:

The 2006 Budget plan could sweep away some of the frustrating complexity of Australia’s superannuation system ...

AMP said:

These initiatives help ensure Australia maintains one of the most progressive and well-managed retirement income systems in the world.

The Institute of Actuaries said:

The Institute strongly applauds the government’s big bang approach to the government reforms.

So we have near universal endorsement of the government’s plan for the greatest reform to superannuation in the last two decades. Who would oppose it and on what grounds? I was very concerned to read in the Age newspaper today in an article titled ‘ALP digs in over no-tax super plan’:

Labor is reserving its right to oppose the Howard Government’s headline-grabbing promise to make superannuation payouts tax-free for workers ...

Yesterday I raised the issue that Labor had been ominously silent—that Labor had not come out and supported this change—and now we see Senator Sherry slipping around to the Age newspaper to tell us Labor’s real plan. Labor’s real plan is to dig in over the abolition of taxes on superannuation.

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